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Treatment for thin-soled, tender barefoot horse??

Have a mare that went lame last week with no swelling, heat, or obvious signs. She has always been barefoot her entire 10 years. But this is a fairly new barn and she has a thick layer of gravel in her paddock that is attached to her stall.

Found out from a good barefoot trimmer that she has very thin soles, a bit of thrush going on, and a stone bruise most likely. Her left front was very sensitive to the hoof tester. No abscess. He is recommending easy boots while she is turned out during the day and then boots off at night when she is in her stall. She is also temporarily blocked from her gravel paddock. Idea is to toughen up her soles for a couple of weeks.

But I was also wondering if there is a good supplement and/or topical treatment I can use as well?

For toughening the sole Keratex is much less effective than Durasole and costs about 3 times as much.

Durasole is formulated specifically for rapid hardening of the sole - which is deposited and exfoliated in discreet layers. Hardening and thickening the outer layers of the sole is a good thing as it may keep those outer layers from wearing away as quickly as they would if they were softer.

Keratex is great for slow, controlled hardening the hoof hoof wall (which is generated from the coronary band) without making it brittle and subject to micro fractures, because it has a lower concentration of formalin and is slower cross-linking due to a plasticiser incorporated into the formula.

I eliminated Keratex from my standard items on my shoeing rig many years ago because in my experience with hundreds of horses (now thousands) having soles treated with Durasole - didn't need their walls treated with anything.

I think that the alcohol solvent in Durasole will probably dissolve and penetrate the Venice turpentine in Magic Cushion if you scrub the Durasole into the horn with a wire brush as recommended. Conversely, I don't think the Venice turpentine in Magic Cushion will penetrate the horn as well once it is treated with Durasole, but it should still have some effect if you wait till the Durasole has completely dried (about 15 minutes) before packing with Magic Cushion. IME, the magic Cushion does not "stick" to the sole if the Durasole has not dried yet.

Durasole can be used on a daily basis or on a temporary - as needed - basis to deal with changes in the horse's environment or changes in use.

It is certainly not a replacement for the protection provided by shoes, but on many horses where the need for shoes is borderline, if the owner is diligent in maintaining the horse on a Durasole regiment it can make a significant difference and provide a significant cost savings.

OTOH, if an owner is too busy to followup on a regular Durasole regiment then one must factor the owner's time into the cost of shoes vs. the cost of Durasole.

Keeping the bottle on the shelf does nothing for the horse as the stuff only works when it is applied to the horse's foot as directed. I feel it is necessary for me to point this out because I have given bottles of Durasole away on occasion, then heard complaints about how it didn't work, and upon asking to inspect the bottle, found that the bottle was still full . . . yes, really.

I started using this on a pastured horse who was wearing his hinds to a bit of a nub - and this is on sandy ground. Regularly using this product on his feet tuffened them up and pretty near eliminated the amount of wear on those hinds between farrier visits. We wanted to avoid shoes on his hinds and using this stuff was the winning ticket.

I also use it on the remaining 6 six shod feet I care for and we have no thrush, no white line problems, no loose nails etc etc. Works well in the wet or dry conditions we deal with here.

On the other hand - durasole did not live up to its reputation on my shod horse's feet. I used it regularly - yet he still would chip out his sole and his walls were crappy - specially at the nail holes.

All those problems are gone.

Laugh and mock if you will - it works and it is pretty standard stuff.

from sunridge1:Go get 'em Roy! Stupid clown shoe nailing, acid pouring bast@rds.it is going to be good until the last drop!Eleneswell, the open trail begged to be used. D Taylor

Apply Hoof Heal into the coronet and over the entire surface of the hoof with the hoof resting on dry clean concrete. Within minutes when you raise the hoof you will find that Hoof Heal has penetrated and marked the concrete outlining the nail marks on the bottom of the hoof.

For those who only give that a perfunctory reading, or those not versed in hoof anatomy and the use of critical analysis and thinking, this sounds rather definitive and true. However, when one takes a moment and dons a [critical]thinking cap, one realizes that painting a liquid on the hoof capsule where it can drip/run down the existing channels left in the wall by the nail hole tracts, will generally result in said liquid exiting the wall at the distal end of the nail tracts, leaving marks where the nail tracts are located on the substrate on which the horse is standing, ie: in this case, dry clean concrete. Which, to the critical thinker, proves the claim to be just so much hogwash, meant to befuddle the pilgrims who take the display at face value. It is a form of prestidigitation/legerdemain** That said, I suppose there are those who would consider that "penetration". I am not among that group.

I started using this on a pastured horse who was wearing his hinds to a bit of a nub - and this is on sandy ground. Regularly using this product on his feet tuffened them up and pretty near eliminated the amount of wear on those hinds between farrier visits. We wanted to avoid shoes on his hinds and using this stuff was the winning ticket.

Congratulations. You now have a data pool of one......

I also use it on the remaining 6 six shod feet I care for and we have no thrush, no white line problems, no loose nails etc etc.

Have you considered that it might be due to the horses being attended to by highly skilled farrier and not because of the magical hoof unguent?

On the other hand - durasole did not live up to its reputation on my shod horse's feet.

Did you return it for a full refund as is guaranteed by the manufacturer?

Durasole is sold with a money back guarantee. If ever you're dissatisfied with the product, just return the unused portion to your retailer for a full refund. No hassle. No nothing. *

I used it regularly - yet he still would chip out his sole and his walls were crappy - specially at the nail holes.

"Chip out his sole" as in exfoliate the sole of his own accord? Did you read the part in the literature that accompanies the product where it says that Durasole is meant for use on the sole and frog but not the wall?

Durasole is an aldehyde-based sole dressing formulated to harden the equine exfoliating sole and frog. It is extremely effective in enhancing the protective capabilities of those structures and does not affect the proximal sensitive sole or frog. Durasole works by swelling and thickening the cell membranes of the exfoliating sole, not by coating the sole with impermeable oils. Durasole does not contain copper napthenate or any essential oils. Because of its unique formulation, Durasole can be used for extended periods of time on chronically thin-soled horses without fear of drying out the foot as it does not compromise the moisture balance of the foot when used as directed. Durasole creates a tough, natural, pad between your horse's sensitive sole and the world's often hostile environment.

Laugh and mock if you will - it works and it is pretty standard stuff.

Can you offer us any empirical(or otherwise) evidence, other than your own [limited]experience with the product, of that hypothesis ?

*http://www.durasole.com/
** Slight of hand; A show of skill or deceitful cleverness
disclaimer: other than as a consumer, I have no affiliation with Durasole, or its official distributor(s). I receive no compensation of any kind(other than the satisfaction I get when I see how well it works) for my endorsement of that product.

Durasole has been a savior for me this year. I have a horse coming back from a bruised coffin bone and have pulled the hind shoes. It keeps her comfortable, sound, and her feet look great - even the "white" one. I do not put it on the frog, but i Do paint it around the wall on the bottom and on the sole once a day, after I gently brush out dirt from the sole.